Any suggestions would be most welcome!!!

[IsabellaG]

Hi All, I've just left an intro in the newcomers -

quote: "I'm a Dutchie who settled in Oz now almost 10 years ago. Both hubby and I have never owned an aquarium before. Just over two weeks ago my 9-year old dragged me into an aquarium shop and somehow managed to convince me to buy two goldfish. In a fish bowl . I googled goldfish bowl, got the message and next weekend we bought a 50 litre tank which I now know we will need to upgrade in the not too distant future. Kid and I now fully into the swing of the Nitrogen cycle with frequent partial water changes, water conditioner, gravel pump, water testing, etc. Current stats: ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ph 7.6 and big, milky bacterial bloom. Am worried about the poor fish (hubby says that is an understatement)."

As said above, I am really worried about the fish. I've read that an ammonia level of 0.25 can harm the fish after a while. I've bought the full water testing kit on Sat 23/07 (API) and tested every day. The ammonia level has been the same 4 days running: 0.25ppm with 0 nitrites and nitrates (Ph 7.6 in the tank and from the tap). Shouldn't we get nitrite readings by now? Maybe the nitrites haven't kicked in because we're doing 15-20% water changes every other day?? The fish have been in this cloudy water for approx 5 days now and it is getting more and more cloudy. I've read that the bacterial bloom uses up a lot of oxygen, which also adds to my worry about the fish. BTW, the aquarium shop advised me to put the water from the fish bowl in the tank, which we did.

Does anyone have experience with Bio-spira for introducing good bacteria into the tank to speed up the cycling process? I've read positive reviews about this product from users on several sites. What are your experiences and did you use it with fish in the tank?

Well, these are my questions for now. Any suggestions very welcome

Cheers,
Isabella.

 

[librarygirl]

There's really no shortcut to cycling with fish other than doing daily water changes. The bacteria in a bottle products are hit and miss; they work in some instances but not others and even if they seem to work short-term they can sometimes cause a cycle crash down the road.

You're only two weeks into the cycle process so it isn't a surprise you aren't seeing nitrites yet. A fish-in cycle can take as long as a few months, so you've got some work ahead of you If you can return the goldfish (or give it to someone with an established tank of the proper size) and cycle your tank fishless and then consider better stocking options for your size tank, that woud be the best option.

Otherwise just keep testing the water every day. Any time ammonia or/and nitrite are 0.25 or over, or nitrates are over 20, you'll need to do a pwc. Goldfish are rather messy as well so you may have to do more than one pwc a day. And yes 0.25 ammonia can be toxic to fish, so a reading like that would prompt me to do at least a 50% water change to get it as close to zero as I could.

You probably need to do more frequent and larger water changes, which should help the cloudiness as well.

Also, if you haven't seen it, check out the fish-in cycling guide in my signature (the second link: 'new tank with fish...'), it'll be of help.

 

[IsabellaG]

Thanks LibraryGirl! Much appreciate your feedback. The fish have been named and my nine year old can not bear to part. We'll roll up our sleeves and start doing daily, larger water changes. I've just read your article on cycling with fish. Very useful. I'll now go and do a partial water change

 

[IsabellaG]

More water changes - new readings - some more questions

As I said in an earlier post, the ammonia level was the same 4 days running: 0.25ppm with 0 nitrites and nitrates (Ph 7.6 in the tank and from the tap). As librarygirl suggested I have started doing more frequent, daily, water changes. Today the Ph has gone down to 7.2 and the Ammonia level has gone down to 0.00.

Good news for the fish, but if there is no ammonia, can the good bacteria grow? Should I now go back to water changes every two days? Test daily and when the ammonia goes up again, re-start with the every day water changes, or should I just continue doing daily water changes?

Also a question about our little Comet. Because we're cycling we cut the feeding to once a day. But, ever since we've moved the fish from the bowl to the aquarium, the Comet just wouldn't eat. It looks like she doesn't like the pellets. There'll be a pellet right in front of her and she won't even look at it. I thought I'd give them a treat over the weekend and gave them some bloodworms and she didn't eat them either. The Shubinkin on the other hand is a little vacuum. He eats everything with gusto. Tonight I thought I'd try peas (frozen, warmed up, pealed and squashed). Victory!! She ate! Is it normal for fish not to eat (much) for a week?

BTW, we don't know the genders, but the Comet is smaller and less assertive than the Shubunkin and the Shubunkin hovers around her every now and again. So we're assuming that the Comet is a girl and the Shubunkin is the guy. It's actually sweet to watch. They really seem to like each others company.

As always any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,
Isabella.

 

[librarygirl]

I'm not too familiar with goldfish, but does Shubinkin seem to be bullying or harassing the other? That can often cause a fish to not eat. It might also just be he/she needs time to settle in. They can go a while without eating so I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. It's good she (?) ate the peas though! Perhaps she's constipated or bloated from over-feeding? If so the peas will make her/him feel better, so maybe try the peas for a couple of days. Feeding once per day is fine and you might also want to fast them for a day of the week.

As far as the water changes, let the tests dictate when to do a water change. Test the water ever day and any time ammonia or nitrite hit 0.25 or more, do a water change to get them down to as close to 0 as possible. And no the bacteria won't starve, your fish are always outputting some sort of waste in addition to any extra fish food that's left over at the bottom so no worries there. Good luck, you're doing great so far!

 

[IsabellaG]

28/7:
Ph: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrites: 0.00
Nitrates: 0.00

Did another 50% waterchange yesterday, will test again this evening and hopefully the Ammonia will have gone down. Goldie (the little comet) and Patches (the Shubunkin) had another feed of peas before yesterday's waterchange and they love it! So glad to see Goldie eating. I wonder if Goldie was constipated from the pellets. I read somewhere yesterday that you have to soak the pellets in tankwater before giving it to them. I sure hope the poor fish survive my ignorance!

I don't think Goldie is being bullied. Patches doesn't dart towards her, but sort of floats in her direction and Goldie reciprocates. Patches 'hovers' more often though.

I've been looking at bigger tanks. Really like Aqua One tanks. The bigger ones come with beautiful stands. Although you'd probably have to have a stepladder to clean the tank.

I'm curious what some of the favourite fish tank brands on this forum are? Is there like a hierarchy of best, better, bestest?

Cheers,
Isabella.

 

[IsabellaG]

29/7 - day 13 - Fish In Cycle
Ph: 7.2
Ammonia: 0.25 (on the light side)
Nitrites: 0.00
Nitrates: 0.00

Approx 40% water change. The water is much clearer (had a heavy bacterial bloom up to a couple of days ago). Still very clumsy with the gravel vacuum, hope I'm not scaring the fish too much with these daily water changes.

Wonder when those elusive Nitri/ates will appear.

 

[IsabellaG]

30/07 - Day 14 - Fish in cycling

Ph 7.2
Ammonia 0.00
Nitrite 0.00
Nitrate 0.00

0% waterchange

 

[IsabellaG]

31 July 2011 - Day 15 - Fish In Cycling

Ph: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrites: 0.00
Nitrates: 0.00

40% waterchange

 

[IsabellaG]

1 Aug 2011 - Day 16 - Fish In Cycle

Ph: 7.4
Ammonia: between 0.00 and 0.25
Nitrite: 0.00
Nitrate: 0.00

0% water change

 

[IsabellaG]

Day 17 Fish-in Cycle - Comet not looking well?

2 Aug 2011 - Day 17 - Fish-in Cycle

Ph 7.4
Ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 0.00
Nitrate - 0.00
40-50 % water change

Cycling with two small goldfish in a 50 liter tank. Bit worried about the Comet. The Shubunkin has grown somewhat, but the Comet hasn't. She hasn't been eating all that well and today for the first time when the lights went on she was resting in a corner on the gravel a lot. And her fins aren't erect, which apparently is not a good sign. I've been doing water changes as soon as the Ammonia tested 0.25. I'd say between 40-50% (50 liter tank and two buckets of 12 liters each). Is there anything else I can do? I'd really hate to lose her